Exercise for both your heart and your ears

The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is recommending that everyone engage in regular daily exercise for both their hearing and heart health in recognition of American Heart Month.

• Studies have shown that inadequate blood flow and trauma to the blood vessels of the inner ear can contribute to hearing loss.
• Conversely, a healthy cardiovascular system – a person’s heart, arteries and veins – has a positive effect on hearing.
• In one study published in The Laryngoscope, David Friedland, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Vice-Chair of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin, pointed out that “the inner ear is so sensitive to blood flow that it is possible that abnormalities in the cardiovascular system could be noted here earlier than other less sensitive parts of the body.”
• Friedland also observed in the study that audiogram pattern appears to correlate strongly with cerebrovascular and peripheral arterial disease, particularly in those with low-frequency hearing loss.
• In 2010, a study was published in the American Journal of Audiology that reviewed various research articles over the past 60 years. It concluded that “the negative influence of impaired cardiovascular health on both the peripheral and central auditory system, and the potential positive influence of improved cardiovascular health on these same systems has been found.”

Known Risk Factors Associated with Development of Cardiovascular Disease

• Diet and lifestyle
• Family history
• Age
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Other vascular disease

So get out there and start exercising for your heart and your ears!

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References:

‍http://betterhearing.org/news/stay-active-youthful-heart-and-hearing

‍http://aja.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1757459